


Art of Life

by Aurelius_P



Category: Original Work
Genre: Authors, Child Abuse, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Idols, Novelist, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slice of Life, Trauma, editors, mangaka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26340574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurelius_P/pseuds/Aurelius_P
Summary: A Slice-of-life story centered on the journey of a mentally scared author, a wannabe Idol, her social, outgoing brother, and their seniors. Follow them and their mishaps through college, a story of disappointment, failure, trauma, and most importantly... unadulterated joy and absurdity. Or, in other words, the Art of Life.
Kudos: 2





	Art of Life

It was just a regular day, nothing was special, nothing was new, as I was working on the new chapter for my manga right after I came back from my last lecture of the day. I heard someone knocking at my door; I was curious who it was; it was already around the middle of the day and I had no plans to meet with anyone. As I walked towards the door from my comfortable seat and opened it up. I was greeted with the face of the landlord smiling from ear to ear.

“Hey, um, did I forget to pay the rent again?” I asked nervously. 

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing of the sort. I’m just here to tell you that new tenants are going to arrive soon!" 

She was beaming with happiness. I wonder who would they be? Maybe close relatives? Well, I'll soon find out.

"And, when will they arrive?" I scratched my head and asked for some form of confirmation.

"You will see them soon!" She said enthusiastically. Heh, she is really excited to see them again, huh?

“Well, I will go back to what I was doing then, tell me when they arrive so I could whip something up.” I said, trying to form a smile.

“Sure will!” She nodded and waved as she went to take the stairs while I slowly close my door.

Man, this is quite tiring. Hopefully, these new tenants won’t be too annoying. I guess I will have to cook up something to greet them, huh. Some cookies would be fine then; I will start baking them after I’m finished with this panel, I leave only the characters left to ink so it shouldn’t take long, hopefully. Well, I won’t have any lectures until next week, so better be productive and make a good first impression. Guess those spare baking powders finally came in handy.

\-----oo0oo-----

I was sitting in the car that was traveling toward our new place along with my twin brother, as I glanced through the windshield to enjoy the beautiful seaside scenery during the spring here.

"Master Fritzgard and Miss Kritz, we will be there shortly. Are you sure about this?" The driver called out to us.

"Absolutely. Besides, this place seems so peaceful. The possibility of attracting attention here is as good as zero." 

"How are you so sure?" 

“Nobody would pay any mind to someone who is living a normal life like Miss Shiki, right?” 

He let out a sign. "Well, alright, I guess that we will meet again after you have graduated. Take care of your health miss." 

"Aren't you going to stay there, Don?" 

"No, miss, I wish I could, but I have received orders to return. I think it would be better if I’m not there. It might cause a lot of unnecessary trouble for us."

"Alright."

"Hey, we arrived." Don said as we stopped in front of a fancy shop with a dominant blue theme all around. On the front gate, there was a wave-shaped sign with the word Ocean Breeze on it. Don walked out of the car and came over to my side and opened the door for me and my brother. By the time I stepped out, an extremely pretty woman in a blue yukata walked to me with a big smile on her face, a smile that could outshine even the sun itself.

"Kritz!" She hugged me. 

"Aunt Shiki?!" it surprised me to see her hugging me suddenly, I thought she wouldn't recognize me after so long.

"Who else could I be." A tear rolled down her puffy cheeks. It has been too long.

"Good day, Auntie." My brother called out from the back.

"Oh! Fritzgard, how are you? It has been a long time, you’ve grown a lot since the last time we met." Shiki turned towards him and patted his head. How long was it? 5, 8, 10 years? 

"Haha, yeah, thanks, auntie." He scratched his head embarrassingly.

"Now, come in. Sora has made us some desserts." She leads us in.

"Wait, Sora? Who is she? I thought you live here all by yourself." I questioned suspiciously, wasn’t the dorms behind the shop restricted?

“How can I possibly run this place by myself?” She laughed 

“Ah, okay, I think maybe we should come in first.” I said, turning over to Don. “Don, if you don't mind, please bring our luggage in.” 

"Absolutely, miss. It is my honor to serve you one last time." Don bowed as he went outside to pick up our luggage. 

He looks sad, which is to be expected. He served us for years already, even since we were kids, he was always there, driving us everywhere and taking care of everything we forgot, the things I’ve taken for granted for most of my former life. But now me and my brother are both moving out to live on our own. It just felt melancholic in a way, we paid no mind to think about the things he has done for us throughout the years, but now all the minor inconvenience that he would just take care of for us in a second now would become a thousand times more annoying because he wouldn’t be around. 

But I guess that’s just a part of growing up, I never thought about the saying ‘You won’t know the true value of something until it’s gone.’ would hold much truth considering we were always taught to be grateful to the things we have. But now, now... I’m not so sure, I guess you can’t ever be grateful enough for the people close to you, once they are gone in a sense, you will always feel like something is missing, no matter how much you treasure them, it won’t ever be enough. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treasure them at all, in fact, you should be grateful and affectionate to the person as much as possible. Because, at the end of the day, the only person who can ever measure the gratefulness of someone is the person on the receiving end of those affections. And if they deemed it to be enough, hey, maybe it was.

I should stop treating it like he died or something. We are just leaving the household to pursue further education, we will meet again once I have finished university. Maybe then I can properly thank him. For now, let’s focus on what’s in the present. Planning that far ahead won’t do me any good. Hopefully, he can still serve my parents diligently as before. As for me, I will try my best to study, that’s all I can do for now. Agh! why do I keep making myself sad, it’s getting more annoying now that we are supposed to celebrate our move into Aunt Shiki’s apartment, and here I am just getting sad over something like not having our butler around anymore. I guess growing up and getting into a whole new environment is still very new to me. 

"Sis! I am going to have a look around here." Frizgard’s voice broke my chain of thought as he turned around and walked outside of the shop.

"Enjoy yourself, Fritzgard." My aunt appears behind me and places her hands on my shoulders, sending shivers down my spine. "Me and your sister will do our thing."

"W-what is it, aunt?" I nervously asked.

"You cannot go around in such a fancy dress, can you?" She whispered in my ear as her eyes glance at my outfit. I think I got what she meant. Sure enough, the outfit I was wearing right now was what I casually wore when we were in Germany, but I guess it is a little too fancy for the standard of regular clothing here in Japan.

"Ah, give me a sec." I turned to Don, who was standing by the driver's seat. I should say something before he departs, I don’t want to leave a sad atmosphere for him when he goes back.

"Don! be safe and thank you for taking us all the way to here! Don’t be too depressed without our clothes to wash every day!" I laughed a bit as I waved at him. It’s quite embarrassing to say it, but hey, if it lightens up the mood for him then I’m fine with it.

"Hmph, As if I would be, worry more about yourself. Without you and your brother around, I will have triple the free time I do now. Anyway, if you need anything, please contact our Headquarters in Japan. I may not be here, but they will help you out whenever you need anything." He smiled warmly back.

"Thanks. See you when I see you." I will not lie, my eyes got a little watery when those lines came out of my mouth. I was still waving as he notices and does the same.

"Same goes to you too, miss." He waved back at me as he sat in the car and drove away. I stood there and stare at him for a good minute, driving further and further away, then turning around and returning to face miss Shiki. A wave of emotions washed over me as I saw him drove away, I guess this is still too unfamiliar to me.

"I think Sora is done with his cooking. Let’s see what he made you guys. You go first, I will look for Fritzgard." Aunt Shiki said as she goes to look for my brother. Wait, Sora is a male? Huh... I will have to ask her more about this when she comes back.

“Ah, ok.”

“Oh! By the way, your dorm is on the left, right behind the back door of the shop, it’s quite hard to miss so don’t get lost, see ya soon!” Shiki said as she took off.

“Thanks, Miss Shiki! Now, let’s see…” I murmured as I turn towards the door. 

Whatever is behind this door is something that I am going to see every day for the next few years. I took a deep breath and opened up the door to my new life.

\-----oo0oo-----

Meanwhile, Fritzgard was staring intensely at the vast ocean while having his arm on the fence near the shore. He is a guy with few words, a lot of times saying nothing. No one ever knew what he would think at any point in time. He was never one to express his desire, emotions, or disgust, he was always just there, sometimes people wouldn’t even notice him being inside the room or near them. He always seems lost in thought, as if he was just drifting his way through life, through the world without a care. The only times where his facial expression changes are times in exams or tests, where the questions are too difficult. Despite that, he was always ranked the top among his class, sometimes even the entire school. To even witness see an event where his face shows any emotions are probably as rare as seeing a person becoming a billionaire in their life. But as of this moment, his face was showing signs of uneasiness, something that never would never happen during normal circumstances, especially with the mundanity of his current circumstances. It wouldn’t strike anyone to be something to feel uneasy about. Maybe it was because of the new environment, the new people, or a whole different culture from the one he is used to back in Germany. But even then it wouldn’t be so significant to make him openly expressing his anxiousness. His brows are furrowed and his body was tense. Only something so significant can ever make him express an emotion so blatantly. Maybe it was something important that they have glossed over when they moved here. But, as it turns out, it was way simpler than that.

'Man, I’m hungry, I wonder what are we going to have for dinner?' He asks himself as he places his hand on his stomach area. 

Yes, it has been on his mind for a while now, the very thing we humans call ‘hunger’. It has been bothering him since they departed, mostly because they have eaten nothing for lunch because the flight there was so long. But more importantly, where the hell is he going to eat dinner? He doesn’t know anywhere that sells food here, the entire area is a complete mystery for him, he has been wandering around for a while now but he has found nowhere that sells food. Damn, how can such a thing happen? He has been wandering to the point where he doesn’t even know where he is anymore, yes, that’s right, he has gotten lost, how unfortunate. At the state he is in now, there is no telling how long he can last out here. A few days, maybe? Wait! He has his phone! Of course! How can he forget this important item that has saved his life so many times before? 

But, as he reaches his hand into the pocket that his phone was supposed to be... Fuck! It wasn’t there! Shit, how can things go sideways this fast! He ponders to himself how he can get himself out of this situation. But then he remembered, he was ranked top in his last school! The time he spent learning all the subjects and applying them to tests and exams should help him figure out a way to escape the state he is in, right? But then it struck him, school’s subjects are fucking useless in real life! How can he make such a blunder! Even thinking about applying whatever he learned in school to actual life would have made him vomit because of its absurdity. Maybe he is getting desperate. No! Calm down, breathe in, breathe out...

“Where the fuck am I!?” He shouted out in frustration. This is the first time he has ever gotten so desperate, so dry of ideas that caused him to shout for the first time in a long time. But as luck would have it, someone called it to him.

“Fritzgard! There you are! I was so worried!” 

Miss Shiki was running up to him from afar at an insane speed. One would mistake her for a racing car if not for the blue yukata. Thank god! He’s saved! But as his aunt got closer, he recognized her running pose; it was a pose someone would make when they are trying to jump on someone, wait, shit! 

“Ah-” They both said.

As his aunt jumped onto him and made him fall onto the hard floor, she hugged him while her body was on top of his. His face turned bleak red, as everyone around them turned their attention to what was happening. She’s close! She’s too close!

“I was looking everywhere! Are you okay? Did something happen?” His aunt asked him with a face full of worries. He was about to retort, but her face just made him sign.

“Nothing happened, Ms. Shiki. I just got a little lost, that’s all.” He mustered a small chuckle. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but he was glad that she found him, he wouldn’t have known what to do otherwise.

As they both stood up with her helping him stand up after the fall, she smiled and patted his head.

“Come on, let’s go back, your sister is probably eating without you already. Sora’s cooking is fantastic!” She laughed a bit.

“Yes!” He exclaimed, it was his victory. Finally, he can have something to fill the void that is his stomach at this point in time. As they both walked back together, they chatted and joked about what they have been through, mostly it was his aunt talking though, but he didn’t mind, not one bit, having someone as energetic as Miss Shiki around might prove to be more enjoyable than he would’ve initially thought.

"Uff!" Suddenly, because of his lack of attention to the surroundings, he accidentally bumped headfirst into someone.

"Are you okay?" He asked while rubbing his head where they bumped.

“What's wrong, Fritzgard? Oh! Miskovic!” Shiki turned over to the girl named Miskovic.

“Ouch...” she groaned.

Fritzgard then helped her up by grabbing her hand. 

“How about you come with us? We’re celebrating our new tenants.” Shiki offered enthusiastically, all the while still smiling.

"Ah! Um... I’m sorry! I’m sorry for the trouble!" She apologized while bowing rapidly and suddenly rushes past us. 

“W-wait!” Shiki tried to call out to her but was too late as she was already fully sprinting away.

"Who was she?" Fritzgard asked, confused about why she was going out of the store in such a hurry. Although she seemed somehow familiar, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

"You’ve forgotten about her, haven’t you?" 

"I don’t remember meeting her before, she seemed a little familiar though." He truthfully replied. 

Maybe she was someone from his childhood? Then again, he hasn’t been here in over 10 years. It wouldn’t be weird for him to forget some friends he had made at the time. A sudden nostalgic feeling swept over his body. It was a weird feeling for him. He hasn’t felt this way in such a long time, time goes by way too fast for him. Sometimes he wishes he could slow downtime, even just for a bit, to take in the moment to its fullest before it passes away again.

"I guess that memory just flowed away with time." Shiki said with a wistful smile. 

She gazes upon the drifting blue sky and lets out a sign. Even though she is getting older, it still felt like she was 20 when talking to her nephew. ‘They sure have grown up, but it still felt like talking to them from 10 years ago.’ Shiki thought to herself, they are all still a child inside no matter how old they get, maybe that’s what so special about them to her. They are still being able to stand tall after so many terrible things have happened to them. Maybe that’s what makes them so different from her, she wouldn’t have had the will to continue on after all of it, but they still do, it’s incredibly impressive to her. 

Even Sora is trying his best to move on, although his situation is much worse and it will definitely take him so much longer and way more effort than anyone else, but he is still trying. Why couldn’t she? She hoped that with the twins moving in with her will somehow help her move on, but that is just faithful thinking to her, but she is still trying her best. After all, a person can’t be chained to their past forever. At least, that’s what she thought.

The pair continued their walk back to the store, with silence this time. It was uncomfortable but relaxing at the same time.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This story is written by 2 people, Aurelius and Baker. Because of that, the style of writing may differ from chapter to chapter, but we will try to keep the gramma as consistent and correct as possible. This is also one of the first times that we have tried writing an original story, or really writing any story in general so we still very much lack experience so please bear with us. That's all for now, see ya in the next chapter! ~Aurelius
> 
> This is Baker, and once again, I did not know why I named myself that but thanks for reading our novel. To be honest, this is the first light novel that we truly focused on after failing so many previous projects that we used to write. But with them, we had gathered lots of useful informations and decided to combine them. Hope you keep on following us with our project. ~Baker


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